In the twentieth century, Marcial Maciel was the greatest criminal in Catholic Church history, and equally its greatest fundraiser, says journalist Jason Berry about this abusive priest, the subject of a new documentary. Think of those two things together. Crime and fundraising. The new film about Maciel explains how the Catholic Church tolerated this abuser for fifty years. Even the popes protected him. The investigations show Maciel abused at least sixty minor children, including his own children. Nonetheless, Maciel never faced any legal penalty. No trial, no conviction, no time in jail, no justice. Maciel’s history reminds us how reluctant the church has been to protect children against sexual abuse.
Maciel was born in Mexico in 1920 and decided he wanted to be a priest. Not just any priest, however. From his youth he wanted to create his own order of priests, one that would follow his own ideas of the…
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